The Best Tools for Sharpening a Scythe - FHC Q & A
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 ก.ค. 2023
- Pa Mac explains the best tools for sharpening an American scythe without compromising the steel blade. The use of the grinding stone and honing stones are discussed in the method of sharpening one of the finest tools for mowing hay by hand on the small farm or permaculture homestead. Pa Mac also provides tips for not becoming intimidated by all of the scythe sharpening advice out there.
If you've got a question related to this or any other farm topic, just leave it in the comments section below, and who knows-it might be answered in future episodes of the Farm Hand's Companion Q & A show. - แนวปฏิบัติและการใช้ชีวิต
Thanks for the Q&A Pa Mac. My wife thinks I am a celebrity for being named on your show! Keep up the great videos from your Aussie fans!
@farmhandscompanion as a young farmer in Mississippi you have taught me a lot. Thank you
Thank you for keeping the Old Ways.
Thank you for putting my mind at ease. I am new to scything and was really starting to become overwhelmed with the entire sharpening process. I inherited a scythe and was afraid of ruining it. Honestly I was about to hang it in the barn for decoration and just continue using my sickle mower. Thank you again. I believe I am ready to take that first leap of faith and just do it.
Just stumbled across the channel because of the scythe videos, didn't realize you are in Arkansas! I am from NWA but had family down in pine bluff as well as Harrison area. I had a great grandpa Mac myself until he passed. Lived in pine bluff, and was a fantastic gardener. I swear he grew the best purple hole peas I ever had, and grandma always made the best cornbread to go with. Thanks for the videos!
I totally agree with you... everyone's a different height, hold at different angles, etc... the same as sharpening and using a hoe.
I love how all the TH-cam experts tell people how you have to set the nibs (handles). My Grandfather taught me how to mow hay with a scythe, he was in his 80's at the time and had cut hay for 70+ years. He told me to set the nibs where they are comfortable to you. The comfortable it's the more work you'll get done. 🤔
Paul it was great meeting you at the Mercantile today. My wife and I really enjoyed talking with you. Your suggestion of the Dairyette for lunch was spot on too. We look forward to visiting the store again.
Thanks for sharing this video Pa. Great grinding wheel you picked up in Arkansas and the repairs you made to keep it more original, that is one big stone. Great idea for new input to your questions. Stay safe and keep up the great wok. OLD DAWG DREAMING Fred.
Youre awesome man. Thanks
Absolutely , get a stone or a selection of stones and work out the way that suits you . I knew an old lad , used a bar of sandstone , opened up fields for the reaper binder and cut his lawn grass at home . Had a beautiful smooth sound to it . Some people I knew had all sorts of gizmos , but it's a simple tool thousands of years old , just treat it as such . 👍🇬🇧
Loving the frequent uploads!
Great video.
What ? You didn't buy that big treadle-grinder as an anniversary present for you wife ???? It may be a long time until you see another one like that ! Great Video as usual! Thanks!
Pa mac, I love your show. Have you ever watched Mr. chickadee before? I bet you would like his channel on youtube.
Thanks Pa Mac for the q and a
TY
Now I must make it my mission in life to ask you a question you will feature in a video! What to ask,…what to ask??? Could you feature a video showing the canning process after harvest? How do you preserve your food?
Great video! We just started carrying American Scythes in our shop and have a whetstone grinder to do the initial sharpening. I love the jig that you made for holding the blade at a consistent angle while sharpening. The jig is similar to what our knife sharpening machine has built in. Thanks for the tip, I will definitely build one for our shop.
Great video, really enjoying your new videos! I’ve got 3 sythes i need to try to sharpen up. My rocky hillside farm is rough on blades
Thank you, FlutyLickHomestead; I hope you all are doin' well!
Great stuff, thanks for making these!
Keeping my open out for one of those as well. I've always used files to sharpen axe heads and hoes. Your jig idea is absolutlely excellent!
You need that one. Go get it; it's just $200 and sittin' there waitin' for you.
Great video! Thank you for sharing your thoughts and knowledge! 👍👍👍👍👍👍
I got a stone in good shape at an auction. Found what I think is some of the hardware to the crank to the treadle around my place. Now if only I can get it together and working...
How did you make the wood hay fork in your intro? Any particular type of wood? Great information, and videos! Thanks for sharing.
My"Bilious" seems to be vague....does this perhaps have some thing to do with the loss of my gizzard, or gall bladder, whatever. Many things seem to stick in my craw these last few months, but each episode of FHC make all symptoms disappear, I too have no Coupon.
@farmhandscompanion I have a course synthetic scythe stone and a very fine stone, but no matter how much I sharpen it doesn’t seem to cut consistently - sometimes it’s a laser, other times a butter knife. Any ideas beside convincing my wife to let me guy a big ole grinding stone?
It looked like the stone was turning away from the blade , I usually sharpen turning into the blade , knife , lawnmower blades etc; it may be different for a sythe , not sure but if you sharpen towards the blade it doesn’t pull microscopic particles out of whatever item your working on , anyway I really enjoy your videos & humor , May God Bless .
Could you maybe do a talk on proper form and use of a scythe? And how to mount a blade or how the handles were made back in the day?
He has a very good vid on the scythe part 1 and part 2 on the ‘favourite farm tools’ segments.
I have a really nice blade that apparently didn't have a wooden handle. I believe someone went to a muffler shop and had a steel handle made. It's kinda freaky looking but it works ok. Do you know if anyone still makes wooden handles for them.
How do I tell the difference between American and European blades. I bought a scythe that the snathe looks like an American scythe but the blade says made in Sweden...sweco
I’m interested to hear more gardening wisdom personally
Hi, I have bought an old grass hook, I think it must be from the 1950s or sometime, and I want to use it to mow my lawn. My lawn it too small for a full size scythe. I am looking at it and I think it is pressed steel, and it looks like it has been sharpened in the past with an angle grinder judging from the way the metal is gouged. I live in the city, so don’t have a shed full of farm tools or a grindstone, but I bought 3 of those long boat-shaped stones, 120, 150 and 240 grit. Would it work just to sharpen with these, judging by eye? I’s say the blade is less than 12 inches long.
Those should work well, providin' you're not trying to correct big flaws like damage to the cuttin' edge in chips and dings. Start with the coarse stone and do equal, full pressure swipes down both sides of the blade trying to keep a consistent angle; then do the same with the progressively finer grits. Thanks for watchin', Peter
There is a thousand ways to skin a cat but they all taste the same… delicious!
you can peen the edge or use a sythe stone
For American scythes, do you have to peen the blade - peening as in hammering the blade carefully on a specialised peening anvil to thin out and harden the blade edge. I know on Austrian scythes, ones with forged blades require peening every ten hours or so. It's been...more than ten hours since I hammered mine, I'll admit. I must get to that. I know old American stamped blades weren't peened. And the Austrian metal scythes sometimes ship with a stamped blade you don't scythe. But a lot of modern blades are forged, and might need peening. That said. I am an enthusiastic but not necessarily skilled, knowledgeable or elegant and efficient syctheperson...
American blades are much higher hardness than European style blades and should not be peened, especially as many of them are laminated construction, and peening produces a single-beveled geometry that would cause your edge to be comprised of the soft cladding iron. They should be ground on both sides equally at about 7-9° per side.
Bastard file is the ONLY WAY to sharpen your scythe. Stones and peening hammers are for salesmen trying to get you to blow money on a waste of time, then when you break your blade hammering it, you get to order a brand new one. Use a file.
I have to agree - peening takes forever, it's easy to damage the blade, and I never got as good an edge peening as I do with a nice really fine mill file - my scythe is scary sharp just using a good, fine, file.
Exactly
You speaking is creeping me out. 😢
I suppose I'm going to have to start listening. 🤔😒😬